AstrHori has announced a new version of its 28mm f/13 2x Macro Probe lens.
The new 28mm f/13 2x Macro Probe lens features numerous upgrades, including an improved design that allows photographers and videographers to rotate the front end of the lens, enabling shooting at a vertical angle. Users can rotate the end of the lens 90 degrees in either direction to access different shooting angles.
The front-most 9.8 inches (25 centimeters) of the barrel is completely waterproof, and the new lens also works alongside an integrated LED light to ensure that the subject is adequately lit, which is especially important given that the lens has an f/13 maximum aperture. The built-in LED can be powered via a USB port on the lens barrel.
Other aspects of the lens are unchanged, including its 2:1 maximum magnification ratio — which results in a minimum focusing distance of 18.9 inches (0.48 meters). The lens’ aperture ranges from f/13 to f/40 and the macro probe incorporates 21 elements organized across 16 groups.
Macro probe lenses offer many interesting possibilities for photo and video applications alike. This summer, PetaPixel reviewed the AstrHori 18mm f/8 Macro Probe lens, saying that “videographers will eat it up.”
However, unlike the APS-C 18mm f/8 probe lens, AstrHori’s 28mm f/13 macro probe lens is designed for full-frame cameras. The AstrHori 28mm f/13 is available across various mounts, including E, Z, RF, EF, L, PF, and F, so it works on DSLR and mirrorless cameras alike.
The improved AstrHori 28mm f/13 lens is an interesting competitor to the pricey Laowa 24mm T8 2x Pro2be lens launched this summer. That lens also offers control over shooting angle, although via entirely different lens tubes, rather than a rotating front element.
The AstrHori 28mm f/13 is significantly cheaper, although it is also slower and does not offer the same wide field of view, which is something that also proved true of the AstrHori 18mm f/8 lens compared to its Laowa competition.
The AstrHori 28mm f/13 2x Macro Probe lens’ new and improved functionality comes with a price increase over its predecessor. While the “classic” version launched for $739, the upgraded version will retail for $939. It is not available to purchase from Pergear, but it should be listed for sale shortly.
Image credits: AstrHori